Fic: Hospitality - 8/? - M - Draco/Ginny
Title: Hospitality
Pairing: Draco/Ginny
Rating: R (M) - eventually
Summary: “There was no snide quip though. No deliberately cutting comment. Ginny stared and then a second later the grey eyes rolled dramatically and turned away from her towards the tasteless curtains.” Post-war fic. Ginny was just plodding along, enduring her perfectly well-ordered normal life and dreaming that maybe something more interesting might come along. She just never thought that the ‘something’ might actually turn out to be a ‘someone’.
Spoilers: HBP
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
1: Paperwork
2: The Good Life
3: Cures and Conundrums
4: Escape, with Sandwiches
5: Night Owls
6: Bookworm
7: A Slytherin Sunday
PART EIGHT: GETTING BETTER
The remainder of Ginny’s Sunday was blissfully peaceful - much to the redhead’s surprise and delight. After her close encounter with Hermione at the curly haired witch’s apartment, she had half been expecting something to go wrong, just to remind her of how fortunate she had been to get away before her friend realised what she had been up to. There were no unexpected visitors though to cause disruption, no unfortunate, potentially embarrassing incidents or accidents and, most importantly, there were no angry letters or howlers from Hermione demanding an explanation for why her private library was in a state of complete and utter confusion.
Feeling utterly relaxed, Ginny had settled down for a quiet night in, mentally preparing herself for the next day at work and had finally gotten around to reading the letter from her mother that had been delivered that morning. It had turned out to simply be an invitation to a family dinner the following Saturday. From the sounds of what her mother had written, the entire Weasley clan would be putting in an appearance. The prospect was not unappealing; it had been a while since Ginny had been able to spend any quality time with her nephews.
She went to bed that night feeling calm and woke the next morning feeling refreshed - more so than she had in a long time in fact. Even the prospect of a full day at work did nothing to upset her good mood. Indeed her good mood carried her through the morning and right up until the moment that Hermione appeared in the office at precisely one o’clock.
Ginny collected her coat and they quickly left the hospital; Hermione as anxious to be away before someone could catch up with her with another task as Ginny was. They left the hospital and headed further out into Diagon Alley than Ginny would normally have dared to venture since she could not be certain that she would be able to make it back in time. Hermione had apparently taken her jest that they go somewhere nice quite seriously and she ignored Ginny’s protests. They ended up stood in front of The Round Table, a reasonably priced restaurant that had opened a year or so earlier and had grown to be quite popular with the lunchtime crowd in Diagon Alley.
“We don’t really have time for this,” Ginny pointed out as her friend pushed open the door and ushered her inside. “When you asked me to lunch I thought you meant that we’d grad a quick sandwich somewhere.”
Hermione wrinkled her nose and uncharacteristically waved her hand dismissively at the thought. Clearly, she was not bothered by such considerations.
“After the morning I’ve had I’m seriously contemplating not heading back to the hospital this afternoon anyway,” she said and to Ginny’s astonishment, she managed to sound completely serious. The brunette witch shrugged her coat off, laying it over her arm as they waited for someone to appear to seat them. Noticing the surprised expression still on Ginny’s face, she added, “They should be thankful that I didn’t walk out halfway through the morning.”
“What happened?” Ginny exclaimed, her disbelief shimmering in her voice. She knew it must be something serious - the tone of Hermione’s voice told her that. But what could be bad enough that Hermione would actually threaten to quit her job was beyond Ginny. For her, murmuring her discontent with working at the hospital was an almost daily occurrence but Hermione loved her work; she loved working at St Mungo’s and had as far as Ginny could recall had never voiced any desire to leave despite the fact that she had received offers from several other hospitals; ones that were privately funded and were able to offer better wages as a consequence.
The other witch opened her mouth to reply but was stopped by the arrival of a waiter. The young man smiled warmly at them, eying both witches with interest, and gestured that they should follow him to a table. The pair accepted menus from him and Hermione waited until he was gone before leaning across the table to speak.
“The moment I got into work this morning, Doctor Marriot called me into his office,” she said, keeping her voice low. “Apparently the accounting department had been in contact with him to discuss my expense for the trip to the symposium. I think the way he phrased it was that there were some ‘peculiarities’.”
Ginny frowned deeply, looking up at her friend over the open menu. “Peculiarities? What’s what supposed to mean?”
“That’s what I asked him,” she replied grumpily. “At which point he started mumbling into his beard and being generally evasive. I badgered him until he finally started making some sense and he told me that it appears that somehow I managed to charge nearly two hundred galleons to my expense account.”
The redhead blinked in shock. Two hundred… She kept her mouth shut, despite the question that was burning inside her, while the waiter returned. He placed the drinks they had asked for on the table and took their order. When he was gone, Ginny leaned forwards and said, “What? How did you manage that?”
“That’s the point,” Hermione said quickly, exasperation showing on her features as she spoke. “I didn’t. I don’t know where they’ve got it from. Now accounting is saying that I have to justify it; though how I’m meant to do that I have no idea. There isn’t anything to justify anyway because I didn’t do anything. Not that they’re likely to believe that. Stupid prats…” The last was mumbled under her breath and Hermione quickly lifted her drink and took a sip.
“That’s terrible,” Ginny commiserated with sincerity. She had experienced enough troubles with the staff in accounting to know how stubborn they could be once they had an idea in their heads. “Don’t go quitting you job though. How would I survive without you? I’d go crazy within a week and you know it.” She paused before adding, “Besides, I’m sure everything will work out fine. Anyone who knows you knows that you certainly would not go off and charge something to your expense account unless you really needed it. If you want then I’ll have a word with Merrick in accounting and find out what is going on. He’s got a bit of a soft spot for me so I should be able to convince him to do a little snooping for me.”
Hermione’s eyes brightened noticeably. “You will?” At Ginny’s nod, she added, “Fantastic. That’s one less thing to worry about at least.”
“Is something else the matter?” Ginny asked cautiously, not wanting to push Hermione too much. She had not imagined that lunch would turn into a chance for her friend to voice her frustrations - not that she was unwilling to listen of course. It was just that up until that point, she had been having such a nice, trouble free day.
The other woman had visibly tensed and suddenly seemed to be very interested in the couple seated over at the next table. Ginny glanced over her shoulder, wondering what was suddenly so interesting. Seeing nothing especially fascinating, she turned back to Hermione who was now staring at her hands as they wrapped around her glass, clenching and unclenching her fingers around it.
The redhead narrowed her eyes, realising that Hermione was avoiding answering the question. “’Mione?” she said, trying to catch the brunette’s attention.
Hermione’s hazel eyes met Ginny’s with seeming reluctance.
“Is this one of those things that I shouldn’t be asking about?” Ginny asked quietly.
The brunette hesitated briefly and then nodded sharply. Leaning even closer, she said, “If someone found out I told you about this then I wouldn’t have to worry about some little error in accounting or even quitting my job. They would probably revoke my license to practice medicine considering the way my luck has been going recently.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” the redhead said, hoping that she sounded more sincere than she actually was. That Hermione was even considering telling her something which was so evidently serious that she could be endangering her career only succeeded in making Ginny all the more curious. She was desperately fighting the urge to ask outright what it was bothering her friend. Now though was not the time to be blunt.
“No,” Hermione said after a moment. “I want to. I need to tell someone and you’re the only one who might actually be capable of listening without immediately jumping to conclusions. I tried to talk to a couple of the other doctors but they only gave me those fake sympathetic looks they’re so good at and reminded me that ‘we can’t heal everyone’ or ‘you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped’.”
Ginny winced, remembering an instance not too long ago when she seemed to remember saying the exact same thing.
Hermione did not notice however. She continued, “Besides, you know it’s not possible to really talk to another doctor about something like this. It sounds too much like you’re criticising them. Of course after this carry on they’re lucky I didn’t do more than criticise. I left specific instructions and…” She trailed off, sighing and grinning at little at herself. “You know, you’re really easy to vent to.”
“Glad to know I’m useful for something,” the redhead responded and earned a smile for her trouble.
A shadow appeared over the table and Ginny looked up suddenly in surprise. She had been so caught up in what Hermione was saying that she had not noticed that their waiter had been making his way in their direction with a tray loaded with food. They both leant back, making room for him to put down the plates of food he was carrying. When he was gone and Ginny had a chance to speak, Hermione said, “This really is just between us.”
“Of course,” Ginny replied, relieved to find that her friend sounded considerably less stressed than the last time she had spoken. Apparently, she had decided to try and relax a little.
“It’s Malfoy,” Hermione told her, the level of her voice barely above a whisper.
Abruptly it was Ginny’s turn to tense.
Malfoy… It was starting to feel like he was deliberately following her around - in name even if he could not manage to physically do it. Everyone she knew seemed to want to talk about him for one reason or another and every time they did so, it sparked her burgeoning curiosity where he was concerned over and over again. Why was it that she simply could not be given the chance to forget about him?
Sitting up a little straighter in her chair, the redhead remained silent because she had the sneaking suspicion that if she tried to speak then she would end up saying something that she had not meant to. In fact, she had an inkling that she would end up ranting about the blonde man - something which would undoubtedly be disastrous. Gradually, she managed to force her expression into something more relaxed and less revealing than it had been.
Seeing that Ginny was apparently not going to exclaim her disgust at the very mention of the blonde wizard’s name, Hermione continued. “Over the weekend - while I was away - he signed himself out of the hospital and no one stopped him from doing so.”
Ginny peered at her for a moment, fighting the peculiar rush of feelings that were rolling around inside of her uncomfortably. “And?” she prompted, struggling to sound disinterested.
Hermione rolled her eyes, as if the answer should be obvious. “And that’s not a good thing.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Ginny smirked broadly. “You know what they say - out of sight, out of mind.”
“Or not in this case,” Hermione contradicted dryly. She slowly drew in a deep breath, as if to steady herself. “It wasn’t just a stupid thing for him to do; it was dangerous thing. He wasn’t in St Mungo’s for his holidays, Ginny. He was - is - ill and he walked out of the building without any of the medication that he needs.”
A frown appeared as she noticed the concerned expression on Hermione’s features. “Just send it to him. I’m sure Malfoy is more than capable of getting a prescription filled when he needs to.”
“Even if I knew where he was - which I don’t since he did not think to leave a forwarding address - it’s not that simple. He needs care - at least for a little while longer.”
Hermione’s gaze had dipped. She was staring intently at her plate; almost as if she did not want to risk meeting Ginny’s eyes for fear of what she might inadvertently reveal. It was disconcerting for the redhead.
“Why do you care so much about him?” she asked softly. “He was a complete git to us when we were in school - to you even more so than the rest of us some of the time. Don’t pretend that if the situation was reversed then he was would sat here with one of his friends dwelling over the fact that you had taken off because we both know that he wouldn’t. He would probably be off somewhere celebrating or something.”
“I’m well aware of what he was like at Hogwarts,” Hermione said stiffly. “Trust me on that; and before you say anything about what he did afterwards, during the war, I know all about that as well. I was in the fighting just as much as you were.”
Confused by her friend’s tone, Ginny said, “I know that, ‘Mione. I just don’t see what the problem is. He’s gone - good riddance.”
Hermione let out an exasperated sigh and closed her eyes. Bringing a hand up, she rubbed her brow almost tiredly. “You sound just like your brother would - or Harry for that matter.”
It did not sound like a compliment and Ginny tensed, feeling a flicker of irritation begin to grow steadily inside. This was Malfoy they were talking about; why was Hermione being so stubborn and defensive?
“I’m a physician, Ginny,” Hermione replied firmly. “I’ve dedicated my life to looking after people and helping them get well again. It does not matter in the least whether they’re the loveliest person who has walked the surface of the earth or the nastiest; I would still treat them in exactly the same way. Granted in this case personal feelings can’t help but be involved a little but that does not mean I’m any less interested in his welfare. In fact, I’m probably more interested because we knew each other growing up.”
Ginny remained silent, feeling properly chastised. Using her fork, she moved the food around on her plate, no longer feeling like actually eating anything. The atmosphere between the two witches was now considerably uncomfortable and to her distress, Ginny could think of nothing to say that would make it better. Apparently, she had stepped over some previously unseen line.
In truth, she felt more than a little ashamed that she had not considered Hermione’s professionalism before asking why the brunette was so concerned about Malfoy’s welfare. Now that she had been made aware of exactly what the other woman’s sentiments were, Ginny realised that she had managed to come very close to insulting her. Of course, Hermione would not let her personal history affect her when she was treating Malfoy. Her friend had too good a heart to allow that to happen. They had been friends since they were children and Ginny knew she should have realised that before opening her big mouth.
The redhead fought the urge to frown deeply at that little revelation. She did not like what it implied about her that she had not been able put aside what she was feeling in order to remember that and furthermore that she had not been able to think someone else would.
When all else was said and done, Ginny thought, she had to remember that Malfoy was a human being and that meant he was capable of suffering just like anyone else. It did not do herself justice to forget that. After all, she had witnessed just how weak he was for herself. Ultimately, being so unfeeling was not in her nature. Ginny Weasley had been brought up by a mother who believed in giving everyone a chance and treating them on an equal footing - something that she had tried to instil in all her children. Her daughter hated to think what her mother would have thought if she had learned that Ginny had been so willing to consign Malfoy to the ‘best forgotten’ pile - especially since he was currently ill.
She could not stop a slight look of dejection from flitting across her features.
Ginny was reasonably certain that the only thing that had stopped her from realising that in the first place was the fact that the man in question was Draco Malfoy. Her dislike of him had blinded her. It had made her act out of character. That though, was not really a good excuse but it was something to cling to - even if her grasp on it was feeble.
Furthermore, she would also admit that she had rather selfishly, concluded that the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ rule would apply to her just as well as it did to Hermione. The moment that Hermione had told her that he had disappeared, Ginny had felt an immense sense of relief. With Malfoy gone there was no longer any risk that she would bump into him while at work. She could safely roam the halls once again without accidentally coming upon him while he was acting strangely and behaving like an ungrateful git simply because she behaved like any good person would do and offered to help.
The thought made her frown slightly. Ginny defended herself with it; Hermione might feel a professional obligation to worry about him, to wish that he was still at the hospital for treatment but that did not mean that she had to as well. The redhead tried to console herself with the thought that he would undoubtedly find medical help from someone else if he still needed it anyway.
Now, she mused, with Malfoy gone then she would be able to forget all about him. It was not morally objectionable to think that he was someone else problem now, she reasoned. There would be no more nagging voice at the back of her mind telling her to find out what was the matter with him. She would no longer have the desire to find out how it had happened and why. Malfoy could once again be the very last person she would ever think about.
Feeling marginally better, Ginny let a carefully controlled smile slip onto her lips and said, “Like I said before, I’m sure everything will work out just fine in the end. It always does.”
Something flashed in Hermione’s eyes - uncertainty perhaps. It was gone before Ginny was sure that she had seen it however and she pushed any doubts she had been experiencing away, letting herself enjoy her lunch.
~ O ~
When Ginny let herself into her flat that night, she was feeling more than moderately satisfied with how her day had gone. For the first time in nearly as long as she could remember, absolutely nothing had gone wrong - discounting the slight unpleasantness there had been with Hermione at lunch that was. She had even managed to get away with being nearly half an hour late back after her scheduled hour for lunch was up. To her complete surprise no one had made even the smallest remark about it - not even Agnes. Normally there would have been at least one person in the office who was feeling overworked enough to snap at her.
The day had continued well. There had been no extra work magically appearing from nowhere, no irate doctors demanding piece of lost paperwork that had probably had nothing to do with Ginny in the first place and no confusing mistakes that needed to be sorted out before the end of the day. Ginny had actually found the time to try to sort out Hermione’s problem in accounting; bobbing into the department and tracking down her good buddy Merrick who had flushed and stuttered until he had promised to see what he could do. What was more, she had managed to leave at precisely five o’clock for what felt like the first time in months. As far as Ginny was concerned it had been a minor miracle.
The good start on Monday seemed too good to be true but the rest of Ginny’s week also went well. The crowning moment came on Wednesday morning when she was woken by an unfamiliar owl tapping impatiently on her bedroom window. It turned out to be from Blaise and inside the note it was carrying there was a date and time for when he wanted to take her out.
Ginny could not suppress a small delighted squeal as she read - even though she instantly felt foolish for doing so. She even clapped her hand over her mouth to stop her from making any more impulsive exclamations of glee. Her excitement was almost palatable and a few minutes latter Ginny began to bounce up and down on her bed, a bright smile on her features.
The redhead tried to remind herself that it was only a date; that she had been on plenty of those before. It was nothing to get so excited about and if she could not stop herself from doing so then she would have to control herself. Ginny forced herself to be still, imaging how embarrassing it would be if Blaise were there right at that moment, witnessing her overeager reaction to a simple offer of a date. Somehow, she would have to contain her excitement unless she was wanted to burn through all the nervous energy she was feeling and leave herself exhausted by the time that the date actually rolled around.
Lifting the note, she read it again. The date he had named was the following Tuesday. Ginny stared at it accusingly, wondering why he had chosen a day that was virtually a week away when there were plenty of suitable days in between. It was entirely too long away, she decided. She was sure she would burst from excitement before it arrived.
Sucking in a deep breath, Ginny placed the note down and determinedly moved away from it. She needed to get a hold on herself. She could not wander around for the next six days feeling like this or she would probably end up doing herself an injury - or possibly someone else.
It was only a date, she reminded herself once again. It was not as if they had not spent time together before. Sunday, for example, would have been considered a date by some people. In fact the only thing that stopped it from being a date was that they had only met up by accident instead of it being prearranged.
Still, Ginny thought, it was not to same as being actually asked out.
She smiled at the thought and then again as she considered exactly who the date was with. It was not every day that she got asked out by someone like Blaise Zabini. Just the thought of those warm, dark eyes watching her made something stir inside of Ginny. The man was startlingly good looking - there was no other way to describe him. Moreover, he was rich, successful and utterly charming. In the time they had spent together, Ginny had even detected a rather mischievous yet pleasant sense of humour. In anyone’s eyes he would be quite a catch.
And I’ve caught him, Ginny thought smugly.
9: History Class and French Lessons
Pairing: Draco/Ginny
Rating: R (M) - eventually
Summary: “There was no snide quip though. No deliberately cutting comment. Ginny stared and then a second later the grey eyes rolled dramatically and turned away from her towards the tasteless curtains.” Post-war fic. Ginny was just plodding along, enduring her perfectly well-ordered normal life and dreaming that maybe something more interesting might come along. She just never thought that the ‘something’ might actually turn out to be a ‘someone’.
Spoilers: HBP
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
1: Paperwork
2: The Good Life
3: Cures and Conundrums
4: Escape, with Sandwiches
5: Night Owls
6: Bookworm
7: A Slytherin Sunday
PART EIGHT: GETTING BETTER
The remainder of Ginny’s Sunday was blissfully peaceful - much to the redhead’s surprise and delight. After her close encounter with Hermione at the curly haired witch’s apartment, she had half been expecting something to go wrong, just to remind her of how fortunate she had been to get away before her friend realised what she had been up to. There were no unexpected visitors though to cause disruption, no unfortunate, potentially embarrassing incidents or accidents and, most importantly, there were no angry letters or howlers from Hermione demanding an explanation for why her private library was in a state of complete and utter confusion.
Feeling utterly relaxed, Ginny had settled down for a quiet night in, mentally preparing herself for the next day at work and had finally gotten around to reading the letter from her mother that had been delivered that morning. It had turned out to simply be an invitation to a family dinner the following Saturday. From the sounds of what her mother had written, the entire Weasley clan would be putting in an appearance. The prospect was not unappealing; it had been a while since Ginny had been able to spend any quality time with her nephews.
She went to bed that night feeling calm and woke the next morning feeling refreshed - more so than she had in a long time in fact. Even the prospect of a full day at work did nothing to upset her good mood. Indeed her good mood carried her through the morning and right up until the moment that Hermione appeared in the office at precisely one o’clock.
Ginny collected her coat and they quickly left the hospital; Hermione as anxious to be away before someone could catch up with her with another task as Ginny was. They left the hospital and headed further out into Diagon Alley than Ginny would normally have dared to venture since she could not be certain that she would be able to make it back in time. Hermione had apparently taken her jest that they go somewhere nice quite seriously and she ignored Ginny’s protests. They ended up stood in front of The Round Table, a reasonably priced restaurant that had opened a year or so earlier and had grown to be quite popular with the lunchtime crowd in Diagon Alley.
“We don’t really have time for this,” Ginny pointed out as her friend pushed open the door and ushered her inside. “When you asked me to lunch I thought you meant that we’d grad a quick sandwich somewhere.”
Hermione wrinkled her nose and uncharacteristically waved her hand dismissively at the thought. Clearly, she was not bothered by such considerations.
“After the morning I’ve had I’m seriously contemplating not heading back to the hospital this afternoon anyway,” she said and to Ginny’s astonishment, she managed to sound completely serious. The brunette witch shrugged her coat off, laying it over her arm as they waited for someone to appear to seat them. Noticing the surprised expression still on Ginny’s face, she added, “They should be thankful that I didn’t walk out halfway through the morning.”
“What happened?” Ginny exclaimed, her disbelief shimmering in her voice. She knew it must be something serious - the tone of Hermione’s voice told her that. But what could be bad enough that Hermione would actually threaten to quit her job was beyond Ginny. For her, murmuring her discontent with working at the hospital was an almost daily occurrence but Hermione loved her work; she loved working at St Mungo’s and had as far as Ginny could recall had never voiced any desire to leave despite the fact that she had received offers from several other hospitals; ones that were privately funded and were able to offer better wages as a consequence.
The other witch opened her mouth to reply but was stopped by the arrival of a waiter. The young man smiled warmly at them, eying both witches with interest, and gestured that they should follow him to a table. The pair accepted menus from him and Hermione waited until he was gone before leaning across the table to speak.
“The moment I got into work this morning, Doctor Marriot called me into his office,” she said, keeping her voice low. “Apparently the accounting department had been in contact with him to discuss my expense for the trip to the symposium. I think the way he phrased it was that there were some ‘peculiarities’.”
Ginny frowned deeply, looking up at her friend over the open menu. “Peculiarities? What’s what supposed to mean?”
“That’s what I asked him,” she replied grumpily. “At which point he started mumbling into his beard and being generally evasive. I badgered him until he finally started making some sense and he told me that it appears that somehow I managed to charge nearly two hundred galleons to my expense account.”
The redhead blinked in shock. Two hundred… She kept her mouth shut, despite the question that was burning inside her, while the waiter returned. He placed the drinks they had asked for on the table and took their order. When he was gone, Ginny leaned forwards and said, “What? How did you manage that?”
“That’s the point,” Hermione said quickly, exasperation showing on her features as she spoke. “I didn’t. I don’t know where they’ve got it from. Now accounting is saying that I have to justify it; though how I’m meant to do that I have no idea. There isn’t anything to justify anyway because I didn’t do anything. Not that they’re likely to believe that. Stupid prats…” The last was mumbled under her breath and Hermione quickly lifted her drink and took a sip.
“That’s terrible,” Ginny commiserated with sincerity. She had experienced enough troubles with the staff in accounting to know how stubborn they could be once they had an idea in their heads. “Don’t go quitting you job though. How would I survive without you? I’d go crazy within a week and you know it.” She paused before adding, “Besides, I’m sure everything will work out fine. Anyone who knows you knows that you certainly would not go off and charge something to your expense account unless you really needed it. If you want then I’ll have a word with Merrick in accounting and find out what is going on. He’s got a bit of a soft spot for me so I should be able to convince him to do a little snooping for me.”
Hermione’s eyes brightened noticeably. “You will?” At Ginny’s nod, she added, “Fantastic. That’s one less thing to worry about at least.”
“Is something else the matter?” Ginny asked cautiously, not wanting to push Hermione too much. She had not imagined that lunch would turn into a chance for her friend to voice her frustrations - not that she was unwilling to listen of course. It was just that up until that point, she had been having such a nice, trouble free day.
The other woman had visibly tensed and suddenly seemed to be very interested in the couple seated over at the next table. Ginny glanced over her shoulder, wondering what was suddenly so interesting. Seeing nothing especially fascinating, she turned back to Hermione who was now staring at her hands as they wrapped around her glass, clenching and unclenching her fingers around it.
The redhead narrowed her eyes, realising that Hermione was avoiding answering the question. “’Mione?” she said, trying to catch the brunette’s attention.
Hermione’s hazel eyes met Ginny’s with seeming reluctance.
“Is this one of those things that I shouldn’t be asking about?” Ginny asked quietly.
The brunette hesitated briefly and then nodded sharply. Leaning even closer, she said, “If someone found out I told you about this then I wouldn’t have to worry about some little error in accounting or even quitting my job. They would probably revoke my license to practice medicine considering the way my luck has been going recently.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” the redhead said, hoping that she sounded more sincere than she actually was. That Hermione was even considering telling her something which was so evidently serious that she could be endangering her career only succeeded in making Ginny all the more curious. She was desperately fighting the urge to ask outright what it was bothering her friend. Now though was not the time to be blunt.
“No,” Hermione said after a moment. “I want to. I need to tell someone and you’re the only one who might actually be capable of listening without immediately jumping to conclusions. I tried to talk to a couple of the other doctors but they only gave me those fake sympathetic looks they’re so good at and reminded me that ‘we can’t heal everyone’ or ‘you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped’.”
Ginny winced, remembering an instance not too long ago when she seemed to remember saying the exact same thing.
Hermione did not notice however. She continued, “Besides, you know it’s not possible to really talk to another doctor about something like this. It sounds too much like you’re criticising them. Of course after this carry on they’re lucky I didn’t do more than criticise. I left specific instructions and…” She trailed off, sighing and grinning at little at herself. “You know, you’re really easy to vent to.”
“Glad to know I’m useful for something,” the redhead responded and earned a smile for her trouble.
A shadow appeared over the table and Ginny looked up suddenly in surprise. She had been so caught up in what Hermione was saying that she had not noticed that their waiter had been making his way in their direction with a tray loaded with food. They both leant back, making room for him to put down the plates of food he was carrying. When he was gone and Ginny had a chance to speak, Hermione said, “This really is just between us.”
“Of course,” Ginny replied, relieved to find that her friend sounded considerably less stressed than the last time she had spoken. Apparently, she had decided to try and relax a little.
“It’s Malfoy,” Hermione told her, the level of her voice barely above a whisper.
Abruptly it was Ginny’s turn to tense.
Malfoy… It was starting to feel like he was deliberately following her around - in name even if he could not manage to physically do it. Everyone she knew seemed to want to talk about him for one reason or another and every time they did so, it sparked her burgeoning curiosity where he was concerned over and over again. Why was it that she simply could not be given the chance to forget about him?
Sitting up a little straighter in her chair, the redhead remained silent because she had the sneaking suspicion that if she tried to speak then she would end up saying something that she had not meant to. In fact, she had an inkling that she would end up ranting about the blonde man - something which would undoubtedly be disastrous. Gradually, she managed to force her expression into something more relaxed and less revealing than it had been.
Seeing that Ginny was apparently not going to exclaim her disgust at the very mention of the blonde wizard’s name, Hermione continued. “Over the weekend - while I was away - he signed himself out of the hospital and no one stopped him from doing so.”
Ginny peered at her for a moment, fighting the peculiar rush of feelings that were rolling around inside of her uncomfortably. “And?” she prompted, struggling to sound disinterested.
Hermione rolled her eyes, as if the answer should be obvious. “And that’s not a good thing.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Ginny smirked broadly. “You know what they say - out of sight, out of mind.”
“Or not in this case,” Hermione contradicted dryly. She slowly drew in a deep breath, as if to steady herself. “It wasn’t just a stupid thing for him to do; it was dangerous thing. He wasn’t in St Mungo’s for his holidays, Ginny. He was - is - ill and he walked out of the building without any of the medication that he needs.”
A frown appeared as she noticed the concerned expression on Hermione’s features. “Just send it to him. I’m sure Malfoy is more than capable of getting a prescription filled when he needs to.”
“Even if I knew where he was - which I don’t since he did not think to leave a forwarding address - it’s not that simple. He needs care - at least for a little while longer.”
Hermione’s gaze had dipped. She was staring intently at her plate; almost as if she did not want to risk meeting Ginny’s eyes for fear of what she might inadvertently reveal. It was disconcerting for the redhead.
“Why do you care so much about him?” she asked softly. “He was a complete git to us when we were in school - to you even more so than the rest of us some of the time. Don’t pretend that if the situation was reversed then he was would sat here with one of his friends dwelling over the fact that you had taken off because we both know that he wouldn’t. He would probably be off somewhere celebrating or something.”
“I’m well aware of what he was like at Hogwarts,” Hermione said stiffly. “Trust me on that; and before you say anything about what he did afterwards, during the war, I know all about that as well. I was in the fighting just as much as you were.”
Confused by her friend’s tone, Ginny said, “I know that, ‘Mione. I just don’t see what the problem is. He’s gone - good riddance.”
Hermione let out an exasperated sigh and closed her eyes. Bringing a hand up, she rubbed her brow almost tiredly. “You sound just like your brother would - or Harry for that matter.”
It did not sound like a compliment and Ginny tensed, feeling a flicker of irritation begin to grow steadily inside. This was Malfoy they were talking about; why was Hermione being so stubborn and defensive?
“I’m a physician, Ginny,” Hermione replied firmly. “I’ve dedicated my life to looking after people and helping them get well again. It does not matter in the least whether they’re the loveliest person who has walked the surface of the earth or the nastiest; I would still treat them in exactly the same way. Granted in this case personal feelings can’t help but be involved a little but that does not mean I’m any less interested in his welfare. In fact, I’m probably more interested because we knew each other growing up.”
Ginny remained silent, feeling properly chastised. Using her fork, she moved the food around on her plate, no longer feeling like actually eating anything. The atmosphere between the two witches was now considerably uncomfortable and to her distress, Ginny could think of nothing to say that would make it better. Apparently, she had stepped over some previously unseen line.
In truth, she felt more than a little ashamed that she had not considered Hermione’s professionalism before asking why the brunette was so concerned about Malfoy’s welfare. Now that she had been made aware of exactly what the other woman’s sentiments were, Ginny realised that she had managed to come very close to insulting her. Of course, Hermione would not let her personal history affect her when she was treating Malfoy. Her friend had too good a heart to allow that to happen. They had been friends since they were children and Ginny knew she should have realised that before opening her big mouth.
The redhead fought the urge to frown deeply at that little revelation. She did not like what it implied about her that she had not been able put aside what she was feeling in order to remember that and furthermore that she had not been able to think someone else would.
When all else was said and done, Ginny thought, she had to remember that Malfoy was a human being and that meant he was capable of suffering just like anyone else. It did not do herself justice to forget that. After all, she had witnessed just how weak he was for herself. Ultimately, being so unfeeling was not in her nature. Ginny Weasley had been brought up by a mother who believed in giving everyone a chance and treating them on an equal footing - something that she had tried to instil in all her children. Her daughter hated to think what her mother would have thought if she had learned that Ginny had been so willing to consign Malfoy to the ‘best forgotten’ pile - especially since he was currently ill.
She could not stop a slight look of dejection from flitting across her features.
Ginny was reasonably certain that the only thing that had stopped her from realising that in the first place was the fact that the man in question was Draco Malfoy. Her dislike of him had blinded her. It had made her act out of character. That though, was not really a good excuse but it was something to cling to - even if her grasp on it was feeble.
Furthermore, she would also admit that she had rather selfishly, concluded that the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ rule would apply to her just as well as it did to Hermione. The moment that Hermione had told her that he had disappeared, Ginny had felt an immense sense of relief. With Malfoy gone there was no longer any risk that she would bump into him while at work. She could safely roam the halls once again without accidentally coming upon him while he was acting strangely and behaving like an ungrateful git simply because she behaved like any good person would do and offered to help.
The thought made her frown slightly. Ginny defended herself with it; Hermione might feel a professional obligation to worry about him, to wish that he was still at the hospital for treatment but that did not mean that she had to as well. The redhead tried to console herself with the thought that he would undoubtedly find medical help from someone else if he still needed it anyway.
Now, she mused, with Malfoy gone then she would be able to forget all about him. It was not morally objectionable to think that he was someone else problem now, she reasoned. There would be no more nagging voice at the back of her mind telling her to find out what was the matter with him. She would no longer have the desire to find out how it had happened and why. Malfoy could once again be the very last person she would ever think about.
Feeling marginally better, Ginny let a carefully controlled smile slip onto her lips and said, “Like I said before, I’m sure everything will work out just fine in the end. It always does.”
Something flashed in Hermione’s eyes - uncertainty perhaps. It was gone before Ginny was sure that she had seen it however and she pushed any doubts she had been experiencing away, letting herself enjoy her lunch.
~ O ~
When Ginny let herself into her flat that night, she was feeling more than moderately satisfied with how her day had gone. For the first time in nearly as long as she could remember, absolutely nothing had gone wrong - discounting the slight unpleasantness there had been with Hermione at lunch that was. She had even managed to get away with being nearly half an hour late back after her scheduled hour for lunch was up. To her complete surprise no one had made even the smallest remark about it - not even Agnes. Normally there would have been at least one person in the office who was feeling overworked enough to snap at her.
The day had continued well. There had been no extra work magically appearing from nowhere, no irate doctors demanding piece of lost paperwork that had probably had nothing to do with Ginny in the first place and no confusing mistakes that needed to be sorted out before the end of the day. Ginny had actually found the time to try to sort out Hermione’s problem in accounting; bobbing into the department and tracking down her good buddy Merrick who had flushed and stuttered until he had promised to see what he could do. What was more, she had managed to leave at precisely five o’clock for what felt like the first time in months. As far as Ginny was concerned it had been a minor miracle.
The good start on Monday seemed too good to be true but the rest of Ginny’s week also went well. The crowning moment came on Wednesday morning when she was woken by an unfamiliar owl tapping impatiently on her bedroom window. It turned out to be from Blaise and inside the note it was carrying there was a date and time for when he wanted to take her out.
Ginny could not suppress a small delighted squeal as she read - even though she instantly felt foolish for doing so. She even clapped her hand over her mouth to stop her from making any more impulsive exclamations of glee. Her excitement was almost palatable and a few minutes latter Ginny began to bounce up and down on her bed, a bright smile on her features.
The redhead tried to remind herself that it was only a date; that she had been on plenty of those before. It was nothing to get so excited about and if she could not stop herself from doing so then she would have to control herself. Ginny forced herself to be still, imaging how embarrassing it would be if Blaise were there right at that moment, witnessing her overeager reaction to a simple offer of a date. Somehow, she would have to contain her excitement unless she was wanted to burn through all the nervous energy she was feeling and leave herself exhausted by the time that the date actually rolled around.
Lifting the note, she read it again. The date he had named was the following Tuesday. Ginny stared at it accusingly, wondering why he had chosen a day that was virtually a week away when there were plenty of suitable days in between. It was entirely too long away, she decided. She was sure she would burst from excitement before it arrived.
Sucking in a deep breath, Ginny placed the note down and determinedly moved away from it. She needed to get a hold on herself. She could not wander around for the next six days feeling like this or she would probably end up doing herself an injury - or possibly someone else.
It was only a date, she reminded herself once again. It was not as if they had not spent time together before. Sunday, for example, would have been considered a date by some people. In fact the only thing that stopped it from being a date was that they had only met up by accident instead of it being prearranged.
Still, Ginny thought, it was not to same as being actually asked out.
She smiled at the thought and then again as she considered exactly who the date was with. It was not every day that she got asked out by someone like Blaise Zabini. Just the thought of those warm, dark eyes watching her made something stir inside of Ginny. The man was startlingly good looking - there was no other way to describe him. Moreover, he was rich, successful and utterly charming. In the time they had spent together, Ginny had even detected a rather mischievous yet pleasant sense of humour. In anyone’s eyes he would be quite a catch.
And I’ve caught him, Ginny thought smugly.
9: History Class and French Lessons